Jewess

Jewess designates a woman of Jewish birth or religion. The term appears three times in the New Testament. Eunice, Timothy's mother, was a Jewess who had believed (Acts 16:1) — her Jewish heritage and faith, combined with her Greek husband, produced the mixed heritage that led to Timothy's uncircumcision and Paul's decision to circumcise him as a pastoral measure. Paul commends Eunice by name in 2 Timothy 1:5, noting the sincere faith that first lived in his grandmother Lois and then in Eunice, before passing to Timothy.

Drusilla, wife of the Roman governor Felix, is identified as a Jewess (Acts 24:24) — she was a daughter of Herod Agrippa I and had left her first husband to marry Felix. Paul's reasoning before Felix "about faith in Christ Jesus" was presented to an audience that included this Jewish woman. The term appears without theological weight in the New Testament, functioning simply as an ethnic designation in each case.